Provincial securities regulators in Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick are proposing new measures designed to protect minority shareholders when companies engage in transactions that may give rise to conflicts, such as insider bids and related-party deals.
The regulators’ proposals, published on Thursday, aim to ensure that all shareholders are treated fairly “by addressing potential conflicts of interests on the part of insiders and related parties in certain transactions.”
The rules, which already exist in Ontario and Quebec, would set requirements for enhanced disclosure, independent valuations and minority shareholder approvals for various sorts of potentially conflicted transactions, such as insider bids, issuer bids, business combinations and related party transactions.
The proposals are out for comment until Jan. 23, 2017. The regulators’ notice indicates that the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) is also considering publishing the proposals for comment in the near future.